Sep25
Fourth-grader Karson Hair of Mechanicsburg, who came with an army of students from Commonwealth Connections Academy, also was ready with a reason why it was important to keep the charter school movement thriving."For some kids, the right school is public school and that's right for them but you can't just throw every child into a public school and think they are going to be successful because some kids need better education and cybercharter schools are going to give them that education," Karson said. More »
Jun25
Accountability for results and freedom from union rules attract the best teachers into the profession. More »
Jun21
1. Some charter school have questioned school district backing out federal stimulus money from the Social Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) and the Education Jobs Fund (EduJobs) on their 363 calculation. It is PDE’s position that ANY federal portion of BEF, including SFSF and EduJobs, should be considered state funds for the purpose of the 363 [...] More »
Jun06
PCPCS is excited to announce that 20th Century Fox in conjunction with Walden Media will be releasing a feature film about a group of Pennsylvania parents and teachers who work together against the odds and opposition to create a neighborhood charter school. About the film: Once in a great while, a film is made that combines honest, [...] More »
Jun06
The Heinz Endowments has awarded the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) a $300,000 two-year grant for the purpose of expanding efforts to drive quality and accountability in Pennsylvania charter schools. “Due to its proven commitment and demonstrated influence in increasing quality, accountability and transparency in Pennsylvania charter schools, the Endowments is pleased to [...] More »
Jun04
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools is profoundly disappointed that State Rep. Mike Fleck served as a mouthpiece for special interests seeking to destroy charter schools and eliminate parental choice. Rep. Fleck’s legislation is disingenuous and shows incredible disrespect for the intelligence of legislators and Pennsylvania taxpayers. It talks about reform but protects the [...] More »
May15
Funding will help drive quality and accountability in Pennsylvania charter schools The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) announced today that it has received a $1.14 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation. The three-year grant was made with the goal of expanding efforts to drive quality and accountability in Pennsylvania charter schools, and [...] More »
May14
Visit www.ChildrenPA.com and take two minutes to let your legislator know you want to see an independent authorizer in Pennsylvania. After more than 14 years of operation and experience in Pennsylvania and from educators in 39 other states, we know what makes for high-performing charter schools – dedicated teachers, involved parents, individualized attention, exceptional curriculums, [...] More »
Apr30
The U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program is requesting public comment on proposed plans for its new Exemplary Charter School Collaboration Awards competition. This competition (84.282P) is designed to create incentives for charter schools to collaborate with non-chartered public schools and non-chartered local educational agencies (LEAS) to share and transfer best educational and operational [...] More »
Apr23
The U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program (CSP) has just announced two new Non-State Educational Agency (Non-SEA) grant competitions for 2012. Applications for both competitions are due June 6, 2012. The CSP’s Non-SEA Planning, Program Design, and Implementation competition (84.282B) provides grants directly to public charter schools so they can plan, design, and complete [...] More »
Apr03
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools is very pleased to report that on April 3, 2012 the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the March 4, 2011 decision of the Secretary of Education which previously awarded the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partner Charters School $1,253,225.82 in its enrollment cap dispute with the School District [...] More »
Feb22
On February 15th 2012, PCPCS President, Lawrence Jones, testified before the PA Senate Education Committee against House Bill 1973, a bill that would severely defund Cyber Charter Schools in Pennsylvania. More »
Jan18
Pennsylvania’s charter school law fell four spots to number 16, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ (NAPCS) annual ranking of state charter school laws. Maine’s law ranked first, and Mississippi’s charter school law remains last. In its third year, Measuring Up to the Model: A Ranking of State Public Charter School Laws [...] More »
Dec13
After 14 years of operation and experience in Pennsylvania and from educators in 39 other states, we know what makes for high-performing charter schools – dedicated teachers, involved parents, individualized attention, exceptional curriculums, enlightened leadership, and strong authorizers. None of this is surprising, and with the exception of the strong authorizer, every one is identical [...] More »